


an infinite end

by Piehead



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Angst, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Witch Eric "Bitty" Bittle, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-12 18:06:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19234360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piehead/pseuds/Piehead
Summary: in·fi·nite/ˈinfənət/adjectivelimitless or endless.A witch is reminded of the past.





	an infinite end

**Author's Note:**

> HI THIS IS SAD BYE

The moon is pale and shines through the clouds like his phone’s flashlight when the battery is dying. He never comes out on nights like this, because it’s an inconvenient time to try to collect the light, but he’s drawn to a presence in the forest like a moth to a flame. He hopes he will not be burned, but he cannot guarantee his own safety anymore. He hasn’t been able to since he broke his protection charm to hide from his family.

Family. An odd word on his tongue now. Foreign, because he has not known a family in a very long time. Not since the night of the haunting Blue Moon, terrifying in all its powers and its beauty. He does not think of family when he heads into the forest, but he also does not think of what can be lost.

The presence is strong, he can tell. The nearer he grows to the source, the more he can feel the energy. He does not use more than the pale moon’s glow to light his path. He left his phone in his house, already knowing it will do him no good to have. He wishes he hadn’t, because it’s been his safety blanket since he’s entered this decade. It is grounding, it is his connection to the present. Without it, he feels he will be lost to time.

He walks until the presence senses him as well and feels him out, curious. It is something between the gaps of this world, he can tell now. It did not mean to be found, but knows that only one with magic could have found it. He moves ever closer still, curiosity eating at him, because who else would be hiding behind the veil except another witch?

He does not try to shield himself from being engulfed in this interested entity. It wraps around him as he grows closer still, trying to figure out what he is. He does not think on what he might be himself; he has not been human for centuries, maybe, or perhaps longer. He has not been human since he was young, and young was some time ago.

When he stops walking, it is because he is allowed in, though he is not sure where just yet. The bustling sounds of a city have long since disappeared and the air has changed, gaining a more biting chill. He wishes for warmth and is surprised when it is granted easily. The clearing he stands in features a lake he cannot make out the other side of. In the middle of this lake stands a single figure.

“The forest is dangerous at night, Bittle.”

He smiles a bit, the voice familiar. He has not heard this voice in some time. Maybe the last he heard it was during the industrial revolution, or maybe it was during the war between Britain and France. Maybe, he thinks, the last he heard this voice was just before the owner died of the plague.

“I’m not afraid.”

The waters of the lake part easily for him. He walks with intent, now, instead of curiosity. He walks until he reaches the figure, who stands tall, impossibly tall, above him. He wants to reach out and touch, but does not, for fear of this being an illusion.

“I missed you.”

_ I missed **you** , _ he wants to say, a retaliation of sorts but also… the truth. Really, it has been so long since he’s been with family.

“Come home, Eric.”

He closes his eyes. Home.  _ Home _ . Where is “home” anymore, for a witch whose burned theirs to the ground to protect the last pure thing in their world? Where is home for someone who cannot be redeemed, who has had dark magics taint their mind just for one more smile from their love? Where is home?

He does not know.

“I can’t…”

“You can. Please.  _ Come home. _ ”

The tears are not new. They burn as they always do, hot behind his eyelids, stinging and nearly searing. He wants to go home. He wants to return, go back to that time when everything was proper and perfect and all he could ever dream of. He wants to go.

He cannot. He has not been able to since he was lost, so many years prior that he has lost count. Age didn’t matter anymore when you were immortal.

Perhaps he would be able to return, when he finally atoned for his sins. Maybe when he finally found a way to break this curse. Eternal life was nothing when you had not anyone to spend it with, after all.

“I can’t, Jack—”

When he opens his eyes, he only sees the ceiling of his bedroom. The sun is peeking over the horizon, just barely, but he is back in his home, back in his bed, alone, alone, alone.

He sobs in the new morning, another night stolen by illusions of a life he wish he could have back. When would this be over? When would he gain an end?

He did not know.

Eric Bittle would never know.

**Author's Note:**

> So Bitty is a witch who used dark magic at one point in his life and is now immortal. its. sad. he's hiding from the rest of his witch family and his love, Jack, is dead (or is he?)


End file.
